


renjun lived in a house of cards

by HoppiHoopi



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:01:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22788385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoppiHoopi/pseuds/HoppiHoopi
Summary: Renjun has some problems with his parents and it hurts sometimes. But he has a home to go back to when his house of cards made out of lies and half truths crumbles.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 7
Kudos: 79





	renjun lived in a house of cards

**Author's Note:**

> So, heyy
> 
> Before everything, thanks for giving my fanfic a shot :) English is not my first language, so sorry in advance for any mistakes.
> 
> Hope you enjoy it

"I'm going out" Renjun said, grabbing a jacket and getting on his way to the front door before his parents could process that fact. No use, it was too late.

"Where to?" his dad asked, unamused, yet with a wary look.

"A birthday party" Renjun responded, his voice coming out small, though he was giving his best to sound like it was no big deal leaving home at 20:30 — since, yeah, it was a big deal at his home.

"Oh, sweetheart" his mother came from the kitchen, where she had been organising her cooking books once again. She had a warm smile, and it was slightly comforting, even if her eyes were cold with suspicion. "You could have told us before, don't you think?"

Renjun shifted his weight from one leg to the other, looking down as if he was sorry. He wasn't, but he had to pretend to be so. Otherwise, he would never be able to go. And he really, really wanted to go for this one party, though. It would mean a lot for him, just as much as for his friends.

"I know" he said upon his parents' gaze. "But I'm taking the keys and I won't be home too late. This birthday party is important, and it's nothing big, just for family and some closer friends."

He tried. He could at least try and see if they could loosen themselves a little bit, since, well, Renjun was already 17, and not once had his parents allowed him to stay out for more than 22:00. It sounded crazy for everyone.

"Oh, is that so?" his mom showed him a faint smile, sitting in the arm of the armchair in which his father was sited. "And whose party is it?"

"Donghyuck" he said dryly.

"The Gay Kid?" his father questioned, frowning.

He nodded before answering.

"Yes, The Gay Kid. But he has a name, too, dad."

Renjun sighed loudly after no response (yet again) from his parents in correcting themselves about Donghyuck's name. They just exchanged a look that made Renjun gulp.

"Renjun, you know how we feel about you being around him, don't you?"

Shit. Once again, he nodded, thinking about how he could convince his parents of allowing him to go.

"I know, bu-"

"I don't think you should go to this party, Renjun"

"But-"

"Better yet, you shouldn't be with people like him" his father added, sour.

Renjun frowned this time. He rolled his eyes and huffed.

"You two and these dumb biases. Donghyuck is really nice, you know? Maybe if you-"

"Renjun, we never said he wasn't nice" his mother interrupted, eyes wide, and the boy couldn't tell if it was from surprise because he responded so harshly, or if it was because she felt offended at the mention of her saying she disliked someone. "We are just afraid he might influence you badly, okay? We just care about you..."

Renjun felt sick for an instance. He knew what she meant with that, and in that sense, he couldn't be influenced by Donghyuck if he was already worse than him, if he was to use his parents' idealism.

"Well, I'm going anyway, since he is my friend" he mumbled between shaky breaths.

"Renjun-"

"No, listen, I-"

His mother marched her way to him, teary eyes adorning her pretty face.

"Oh, my sweet boy..."

He flinched slightly as her hand was raised to touch his hair.

"Renjun, what is up with you?" her voice was weak. Her words were calculated. "You are not like this, baby, you've never been so... so rebellious."

"Your mother is right, Renjun. Your actions don't meet your words. You say your friends are not a bad influence, but look at you! You act as if you were those vandalous teenagers" his father said, much more angrily than his mother. "You should not go to a brodel-like party."

"It's not a brodel-like party, it's a normal birthday party, and I already promised I was going. And I am going!" he himself got surprised by his own uprising tone, that seemed to get his father mad enough to not actually respond. But Renjun knew he may have screwed a little up by the subtle difference in the sound of the old man turning the pages of his newspaper. He was probably in big trouble once he came back.

"Are you going with someone?" his mother asked, a tiny voice.

"With my friends" he responded, leaning to the door. He was suddenly petrified by the idea of not leaving.

"You mean Mark too?" There was a spark of hope in her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Mark will surely be there" he nodded frantically.

His parents liked Mark, since he appeared to be the one and only boy in the group (apart from their son) that wasn't a hell condemned soul. Their parents had met, and at the time Mark had a girlfriend and their relationship had been going on with cautious (and very very stereotypical christian sort of like) moves. Too bad for them, but lucky Renjun that they didn't know, he had broken up with her after a while, and was now dating The Gay Kid. Oh well.

"That's reassuring" his mother said, sighing loudly. "Even though we-"

"I'll be late if I don't go now" he interrupted, reaching the door and waving a goodbye to his parents. "Bye! See you soon!"

And Renjun sprinted from the front door. Honestly, it felt amazing.

He knew that there was no one after him. He was outside, and probably not coming back so early, and he was to meet his friends. The road was desert, even if it wasn't really late yet. It was probably a particularity of their street, in reality. That street has always been much more silent than most of those in town, and he was used to this. But not much at night, if he was to be honest.

His phone started vibrating on his pocket, and he took a look. It was his mom. Should he really pick up? Biting his lips, he denied the call and put his mobile back in place.

And it was right there and then, that someone suddenly called his name, making the boy jump.

"Renjun!"

He turned around, seeing a figure running to reach him. He was trying to catch his breath.

"Hi, Jeno" he said, receiving a quick peck on his lips. "Jeno, not in the middle of the street."

"There's no one near here."

"You're learning those things from Nana, aren't you?"

"What's there to learn? To show affection?"

"Exactly that."

"C'mon, we'll be late. Hyuck will be there any time."

"What? I thought it was at eight." Renjun quickened his pace to accompany Jeno.

"I was, but they don't know for how long Hyuck's parents will manage to keep him out, so... we better hurry. Jaemin is already there, and Chenle said he'll come late." He frowned. "Seriously, don't you check your messages?"

Renjun didn't answer, but merely shrug his shoulders, getting Jeno to smile adorably and pulled their bodies closer to hide their now intertwined hands. They walk all the way to Donghyuck's house like this and once they saw Jisung's head peeking from the window. Anyone could see they were making an effort to make everything go according to plan. Taeil was the one who opened the door for them and they were soon greeted by everyone.

"Heyy, looking good, you two!" Jaemin came through the balloons left disorganized on the floor.

Jaemin — or Nana, as some called him, sometimes — took a second to absorb the scene before him: Jeno and Renjun holding hands, shoulders brushing and a soft smile in their faces. Jaemin cooed and leaned closer to give each of them a small kiss at their lips.

"You two look too cute today, what's up with you tonight?"

And yes, Renjun felt that, for his parents, he was way worse than Donghyuck, simply for the fact that he was not only dating a boy, but because he was dating _two_ boys (who made him very happy, thank you very much). He had been dating Jeno and Jaemin for a while now, and lying to his parents since then (or better yet, he had been lying to them about love for a long while now.)

"Jaemin, I need your help!" Mark called, almost desperate. "Jeno, Renjun! Good to see you could come!" He put a bright smile on his face and Jeno slightly squeezed his hand with a warm smile, too.

The last sentence was almost completely directed to Renjun, of course. He could never go outside if it was late, although he never questioned why his parents wouldn't let him and was too good of a kid to sneak out. He was happy to be able to come for once, and knowing the others were also very happy to have him as a guest for Donghyuck's surprise party was completely heartwarming.

They helped preparing everything for the big surprise when they saw Chenle finally show up exasperated.

"I think he saw me!? They're here!"

"We're not ready!" Johnny said.

"Fuck that!" Jaemin said, turning off the lights.

"Let's just improvise something" Lucas concluded and all went silent.

  * °•°•



The surprise ended up a mess of balloons flying and falling right after, indecipherable screams and laughter, because the Donghyuck took his time digesting all the information that was thrown at him now. Then he smiled. A beautiful smile, that was full of surprise and joy. He ran towards whoever was near, greeting everyone excitedly and stayed a while more with Mark, but his eyes went wide when he saw Renjun.

"You're here too?" He asked, in his familiar high-pitched voice.

"Yes, I almost ran away from home for this, you can feel special."

"Sure you just didn't want to spend some time with your boyfriends?" He joked, giving him a hug. "I'm glad you could come, though!"

And they ate dinner — pizza! — all together (Renjun having a meal for the second time, since his parents insisted on having dinner early) and chatted for a while before the guests started demanding Mark to give a speech to his boyfriend and he shortly mumbled some cute words, which he had to repeat a few times before he was understood.

"So... yeah. That's... that's basically it" Mark murmured, fascinatingly quieter and in a more embarrassed tone than when he just started. "Oh, a-and..."

There was a pause, everyone staring at Mark, and Mark staring awkwardly at the set of sweets on the table, and a few more seconds passed with nothing happening at all.

"It's okay, take your time, sweetie" his boyfriend said, getting everyone to laugh at his impersonification of the famously infamous history teacher.

And just like that, all of them had their attention being shifted to Donghyuck, and Mark was apparently more comfortable now. As for Donghyuck, he was satisfied with the faint laugh he had gotten out of his boyfriend. "Breathe, yes, Markie?" he proceeded with his little act, an amused smug adorning his lips. "Breathe in and out, will ya, dear? Okay, now with me. Breathe in... and-"

"And I love you. I love you so so so much, Donghyuck. Thanks for being you, and for being here, and for allowing us all to be part of your life, and for being a part of ours, y'know? I love you."

As Donghyuck stared in utter astonishment — Mark had never managed to express his feelings in front of other people —, the others were cooing, laughing, applauding, and making a ruckus overall.

Donghyuck almost — almost! — went unnoticed when he got up from the sofa and ran to his boyfriend, giving him a quick peck on his lips (very quick, though, because they were both smiling uncontrollably).

The whole outer commotion got louder and Renjun kept wondering, just how could someone see anything but love there? Because that's all it was, and love was not wrong. Therefore, what could his parents see, that was so wrong to their eyes?

  * °•°•



Jeno and Jaemin were dedicated to teach Renjun how to party, and he ended up discovering it was not really his go-to plan for a Thursday night. He had fun with his friends, didn't drink much more than some hesitant sips of Jaemin's drink and sat down by midnight, so tired he could sleep on the corner of the couch. He was definitely not used to stay up late and actually doing something that was not doodling, last minute school assignments or just browsing on his phone. So, yeah, he was pretty tired out.

"Aww" Jaemin cooed, throwing himself on the couch and hugging Renjun by the side. "Someone is sleepy."

Renjun just nodded in response.

"You wanna go home?"

And now he shook his head to the sides. Not really. He wanted to rest, but he was happy there. He wanted to stay a little more with his friends, and Jeno and Jaemin. For once, stay away from home, from his parents and their biases and beliefs.

"OH, GOD!" He jumped awake, scaring Jaemin a little. "My parents! I had told them I wouldn't be home so late..."

He groaned, melting in the sofa and Jaemin's arms, taking his phone out of his pocket. He had missed five calls. Shit.

"Can't you stay at my house for tonight? Jeno's coming too" Jaemin suggested, a smirk adorning his lips.

"I can only stay at Mark's. You know, since he's the only one who is not a bad influence, according to my parents."

"Then say you'll be staying with me" Mark intruded the conversation, suddenly emerging from the crowd. "Knowing your parents, they're probably hella mad at you for being late. Like, wait for the fire to subside, you know?"

"So? What do you say?" Jaemin insisted, noticing how stressed his boyfriend became. "Renjun, you'll have to calm down now. You can't hide this forever, you know it."

"Yeah, I'm just hoping for it to happen when I can walk with my own feet, okay? They'll disown me, I'm not joking!"

"Hey, hey, it'll be okay" Mark reassured him. "I'll tell my parents about the situation and we'll cover up for you if they ask. Is that okay?"

"I... I guess."

"Great." Jaemin clapped his hands once, smiling fondly at the other. "Tell your parents you're at Mark's place and I'll go find Jeno. We're going as soon as we say goodbye to everyone we know, okay?"

"But- Wait, Nana, you two seem to be having fun, you shouldn't leave yet and-"

"Injunie, it's okay. We have our pretty, little and tired boy to take care of." He gave him a peck on his forehead. "Plus, we never got to have a, like, sleepover with the three of us. You'll probably sleep as soon as we get home, but still!"

He seemed excited as he left and Renjun felt a little better too. He decided to send a quick message to his parents, warning them he was staying at Mark's because it was already late. He looked at Mark, waiting for him to finish the call with his own parents. He only sent a smile and a thumbs up for Renjun to understand that everything was set. Jaemin came back with Jeno and they started saying goodbye to their friends. Donghyuck thanked them for coming and accompanied them to the door.

"I can't believe Injunie is coming too!" Jeno said, like the excited puppy he was. It was already past 01:00, so the streets were pretty silent. They didn't fear anything though, Jaemin's house was just two blocks away.

"Me neither" Jaemin complemented. "I actually thought we'd have to wait until we're 26 or something."

It was a simple gesture, to spend the night with your friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, whoever you liked. Just chat until falling asleep, maybe watch movies and have junk food as dinner, like in Donghyuck's birthday party. Renjun felt like a caged, captive bird, who didn't know the world.

"Renjun, wake up." Jaemin snapped his fingers in front of the boy's vage face, with a faint laughter leaving his lips. "You're almost sleepwalking. Fear not, though. We're here."

It was a nice house. Small, Renjun noticed, but seemed cozy. Felt like a good home to grow up.

"Let's just be silent, I don't know if my parents are... oh." Jaemin hesitated as he saw a couple — his parents — sited in the living room watching TV. "They're awake. Hey mom, hey dad!"

"Oh, you're home already? We thought you'd be home later." His father got up, seeing he had visits. "I see you brought Jeno too. Hello, kid, always nice to see you."

"Jeno" Jaemin's mother greeted him with a smile and a hug. "And you, I don't think we've met properly, but you seem oddly familiar..."

"This is Renjun" Jaemin said, smiling. "My other boyfriend, you saw in the pictures I showed you the other day."

"Ah, alright, now I remember. It's so nice to meet you, finally. I'm this little pest's mom, HyeJin."

"Nice to meet you" he mumbled, feeling the words as heavy as his sleepy mood was.

"So, are you kids hungry? Why are you home so early?"

"Renjun is not used to this, so we came with him home. They'll be staying for the night, if it's not a problem..."

"Of course not, but no witty ideas, Na Jaemin."

"Sure, mom" he gave her a small kiss on the cheek and took Renjun and Jeno's hand. "C'mon, let's go upstairs. I think we ate enough at the party, right? But thanks, mom!" He yelled as they went up to his room.

Jaemin's room seemed to fit his personality. It had a nice shade of green on the walls and the light was faintly there (he probably should change his lamp) and dear God, it was messy, but no one expected him to be sorry about that. Some photos were pinned on a corkboard. Jaemin with his parents and a few nice landscapes, probably from family trips. There were also childhood photos of him and Jeno, since they knew each other for that long. In that sense, Renjun felt like an intruder, he came as a friend just in high school, and as something more just for what? A few weeks, maybe six or seven? (Although he knew the three of them had longed for their current relationship for months now.) But he also saw pictures of them — Jeno, Jaemin _and him_. Some selfies taken on his phone and other photos of Jeno and Renjun individually or together, taken when none of them were seeing him sneak some pictures. They all had little doodles of hearts in permanent marker on them.

Renjun felt someone rest his chin on his shoulder and stare at the photos with him. It was Jeno, he knew because of the ruckus Jaemin was doing just to shove some clothes back in his wardrobe, leaving some space for them to sit on his bed.

"So, Injunie is almost sleep walking, and we're not yet. Jeno, any suggestions?"

"Put Renjun to sleep. Tomorrow morning we'll have time to chat and spend time together."

Renjun kept his mouth shut as he watched his boyfriends wonder about how to proceed. He was still looking at the pinned photos, smiling.

"Alright. We can just lay down too, right? Stay a while on the phone, or whatever."

"I'll probably just sleep too, Nana. I'm not that awake like you, you know?"

"I'm just happy."

"We've noticed" Renjun answered and smiled back at him, finally diverging his gaze from the pictures, satisfied with them.

Jaemin found a t-shirt for Renjun to use as a pajama and some shorts and once he had brushed his teeth (Renjun was too sleepy to remember how he'd done it. He supposed Jaemin found him a new one lost somewhere in the bathroom), he went back to Jaemin's room.

Jeno and Jaemin were already dressed too, and as they went to the bathroom to brush their teeth too, they left Renjun alone with his thoughts.

For not a single moment his parents left his mind. He sent some worried messages to Mark to check if everything was OK, since his parents had sent him nothing but silence. Mark said nothing happened, that he should relax, and Renjun tried. He breathed slowly for a few seconds and then gave up, collapsing his back on Jaemin's bed. He closed his eyes — ironically, the only way he could find to get his mom and dad out of his thoughts: just give in to the fatigue. But something strange happened. Even when he was almost asleep, his body betrayed him and he felt the corner of his eyes get wet. He shot his eyes open again.

Why did he have to lie to his parents to be with people he loved? Why should he feel the guilt of lying for that? When would he be able to be honest with his parents and why couldn't they be a little more open-minded?

"Renjun, what's up?" Jaemin's voice echoed in the room and Renjun vainly shook his head. "Is something wrong with... you know, your parents?"

There was no use in lying to Jaemin, because it always felt like he could pierce through his soul and see whatever was stuck in his mind.

"Jaemin" he called in a quiet voice, feeling the mattress sink by his side and a cold hand hold his. "How long did it take for your parents to accept that you're a boy dating two boys?"

Jaemin probably saw that coming, but was still left speechless. Renjun sat up just as Jeno came back to the room, eyes wide when he saw his tears silently streaking down his cheeks. He comes closer and wipes them off.

"What happened?"

"His parents" Jaemin responded. "He's worried, aren't you?" Renjun nods.

"How long until I can tell them?" he murmurs, having both of his sides protected by his boyfriends. "I'm sick of lying to them so I can be with you... So I wonder- I wonder how long until they can accept me, and don't hate me or disown me..."

Jeno left a sweet kiss on his temple and caressed his hair.

"I think it'll take time, not gonna lie to you" he says. "But we're here for you, alright?"

He nodded his head, deep breathing and head spinning out of tiredness.

"Let's sleep, ok?" Jaemin suggested, guiding Renjun to the middle of the bed. He cupped his face and gave him a warm smile before shortly kissing his lips. "Our sleepy boy, Injunie. It'll pass."

He went under the blankets, Jeno hugging him from the back, arms around his waist and forehead resting against his nape. Jaemin, who wasn't sleepy at all, held his face and distributed little kisses all over it until Renjun's eyes closed completely and he seemed more relaxed. Renjun felt Jaemin hug him too, and he nudged to their warmth.

It felt good. For the first time since he started dating Jeno and Jaemin, since he started having feelings for them, since he had discovered he liked boys, he finally felt safe from his parents judgement. Protected from whatever it was out there, waiting for him to be — to feel — alone so it could harm him because of his love.

He would try to stay strong in his house of cards made out of lies and half truths, and _honest feelings_. He had to try, and now he felt like he had a home to go back if his house of cards crumbled. He had a safe haven to go back to. Aware of that, Renjun fell asleep. Whatever tomorrow brought, he knew he had a home.

**Author's Note:**

> The end  
> Yayy
> 
> Comments will be appreciated and critiques are welcome if you have any <3
> 
> AGAIN, thanks for reading, hope you liked it :)


End file.
